Abstract [en]

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to investigate the quality and credibility of the articles collected from Google - describing fast weight loss methods as well as diets for martial arts.

Method

The method started with five search phrases related to weight loss pre-competition at martial arts. The five phrases where applied to the Google search engine and for each phrase the first five search results were selected. Search results were analysed with content analysis criteria analysing Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonability and Support. Detailed descriptions of how these quality parameters were assessed can be found below in text

Result

The results from the study showed that the articles analysed in this study with content analysis criteria do not have the desired credibility because only 12 % of the articles are based on facts. The results also showed that 35 % of the authors claimed to be experts and 41 % of the websites associated with the articles have a responsible publisher. Furthermore the study showed that the articles have low accuracy because no article is peer reviewed and only 6 % of the authors use scientific structure in their articles. Some of the articles even included contradictions. The study showed that the web pages have a low reasonableness because 53 % of the articles and web pages have a partial message to promote their products and education. The study shows that web sites associated with the articles has more than 76 % support.

Conclusion

Martial art athletes should understand that not all of the rapid weight loss information that appears in Google search results is based on science or facts, most of the information is no more than opinions that lack reference. None of the articles in the study were previewed by peers and few articles were written by experts. This means that accuracy and credibility are low according to the study's criteria. In addition, many authors try to sell either their products or training through their articles, but this is not a standard indicator that makes the quality low.